Borrowed Power Chapter 1
by Laxtastic
Summary: First off I don't own Naruto, at all. period. Naruto has just failed for the second time, he is lost and needs help, he needs power that isn't his and he knows where to get it, all he wants to do is become a ninja and do he is willing to borrow power and follow the path of another for the time being. let's see how it all works out and throws down, eh?


_**Hi everyone, I've been offline for a good long while. Lost inspiration and just been writing little things here and there. I'm back because I think, rather strongly I might add, that this idea for a story is a good one. I believe with my new writing style and care for development opposed to my old "Lets Skip To The Good Stuff" idea tat this story might really become something we all might like. As for my old writings. Abandoned. Pieces of crap left in some gutter on the side of the road a couple miles south of the border. Now this chapter is short because I'm just pitching the idea, I'm also going to try VERY hard to write longer chapters, with more character development and better conflict scenes. Internally and externally. It'll follow cannon events to the best of my well not ability more like wishes, however, he won't be overpowered ad he won't be a horn dog either. I don't expect romance elements to MAYBE post chunin exam. P.S. if someone could give me a free, non sketchy site for Japanese translations as I would love to incorporate the moves in Japanese. On with the fic! **_

_**Borrowed Power**_

_Chapter one_

"Look Naruto, I'm not doing this to upset you or keep you from accomplishing your dreams, but I can't, with good conscious, allow you to graduate at your current skill level. You'd die." Iruka said with a look that conveyed his level of sincerity.

"But Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, desperation and sadness clearly shown from the tone of his voice.

"No buts Naruto, if I let you graduate and you died o a mission I would never forgive myself! Neither would the hokage! Listen Naruto…" Iruka said getting on his knees and placing his hands on each of his favorite students shoulders. "I promise you, with your attitude and conviction this time next year I will be seeing you walk out of this class with an official shinboi headband and on the path to hokage!"

Naruto ooked up at his best friend/mentor and saw the absolute belief in his eyes. To see someone have such faith in him washed away all thoughts of inadequacy and brought feelings of happiness to the surface of his face. Naruto flashed his foxy mega-watt smile and threw his arms around his sensei. "You better believe I will!" He shouted into Iruka's ear. "And you know what else you better believe?" Naruto said in an unusually softer tone.

"What?" Iruka asked genuinely curious as to what he should "Better Believe."

"Tonight…" Naruto said whispering. "Ramens on you!" and with that he disentangled himself from the hug and dragged his laughing mentor out of the long deserted class by is wrist to a place Naruto considered is his personal safe haven and best place to get some grub!

_**30 MINUTES LATER**_

"Hey, old man! Rev up those fryers because I sure am hungry!" Naruto Exclaimed as he burst into the ramen stand still clutching his sensei's wrist in a death grip.

"You got it Naruto, the usual?" Teuchi, the ramen stand cook/owner asked. He was an olden man, was a ninja till he took a kunai to the knee, rose to the rank elite chunin too. He was kind to Naruto and so was his daughter, it also didn't hurt that the served him no problem and the place had some damn good ramen! So it was obvious that the place was a god send to aspiring ninja Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto took his usual seat, third one from the right side of the stand and greeted Ayame, his surrogate big sister and current girlfriend to his best friend/Mentor apparently he brought them together and Ayame couldn't have thanked Naruto enough, in her opinion that is. Iruka of course was incredibly grateful as well but had to deal with Ayame's father and even with his knee injury he could scare Iruka like no other. The hazing he received was something more akin to stalking and harassment. Iruka was conversing with his "Beautiful, wonderful Ayame for a while until their food came which initiated a change in attention.

Iruka looked over and saw that he was more finished than Naruto was with his bowl of ramen, by now he would be on his fifth one. All he saw was his surrogate little brother twirling his noodles in the broth. "What's eating you Naruto? Usually you're on cloud nine while eating ramen." Iruka finally asked drawing Naruto from his stormy overcast.

"It's just…. This is my second time failing Iruka sensei!" Naruto said in a defeated voice, he continued after receiving a nod from Iruka to continue. "No one else has failed as horribly and as much as I have! I want to pass so badly, but I want to do it on my own terms and my own strengths'!" Naruto shouted exasperatedly throwing his hands up in the air losing his chop sitcks and hearing a shout from the street, " ARGGH MY EYE! YOU FUKING BRAT!" to signify that some man was hit with them. Iruka sighed while Naruto just looked down shamefully and grabbed another pair.

"What do you mean on your own terms and strengths Naruto?" Iruka asked genuinely confused.

"Well what if I followed in the footsteps of another to help me pass?" Naruto said carefully as to explain what he had meant as best as he possibly could to his source of confidence.

"Well I don't see what's wrong with it." Iruka said seeing from the look of Naruto's face that he had his full attention. "Tons of people do it, like with their idols and stuff. And besides you aren't the same exact person no matter how much you emanate them. But you're correct eventually you're going to have to go your own path, but you won't even reach that point unless you get the strength to walk to it." Iruka said sagely earning a nod from both Ayame and Teuchi."

"So… it's okay for me to follow their path as long as I maintain my individuality and go m own way when the times comes?" Naurto asked his faced carrying as much confusion as his tone of voice.

"Sort of, listen Naruto, there is no '_maintaining_' you are you. Nothing will change that, so no matter whose path you follow, no matter how closely you borrow strength from, you'll never become that person." Iruka said finishing with a smile as he saw since Naruto was now working on his fourth bowl his words of wisdom truly helped.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei, you're the best ever!" Naruto shouted as he hopped of his stool.

"Naruto!" Iruka called before Naruto could get away. "You have three months to work on it before the academy begins, devote your time to your studies fiercely and I know you can be top class material!" Iruka shouted to the back of Naruto as he walked away getting a wave over the shoulder signifying that he had heard him.

"Three months free of work, huh?" Ayame said as she put her elbows on the counter to lea over close to Iruka's face. "I like the sound of that." She purred before she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and returned to her work.

_**35 MINUTES LATER**_

Naruto arrived at his vacant apartment complex and headed down his basement. 'I know I said I would become a ninja my own way, but I need help! And Iruka said it won't be weak of me to do so.' Naruto thought as he descended the creaky and broken stairs to the cellar. 'I won't follow in his footsteps, but I will walk his path, at least until I have the ability and means to make and walk on my own.' he thought to himself full of conviction. Continuing to walk down the dimly lit hallway to a rather big steel door akin to something put on a vault. 'I wont just walk his path and follow his strengths, I'll make them better than they ever were!' he neared the door and fiddled with the large key of rings left behind by the owner when everyone moved out prior to his moving in. He had to force the key in a bit due to the doors age and after hearing it unlock he pulled on the door with all his thirteen year old might. Soon after much work the door was opened and with its opening the musky smell in the room was released full blast to him again like the first time he found it.

_**Flashback 8 years ago**_

Naruto was finally found by some ANBU after being kicked out of the orphanage at the age of four, he found it hard to believe it took them a year to find him, however he was safe now so it did not matter. He was busy exploring the basement of his new home, an abandoned apartment complex when he was trying to open the door to a cabinet. "ARGH! SCREW THIS SHIT!" Naruto yelled due to lack of patience, maybe rightly so since it took him twenty minutes to open some damn doors to a cabinet. Grabbing a near by wood chopping axe he heaved his young body and threw the axe against the doors with al his might. Instead of he axe hitting the back of the cabinet as he expected he heard it clatter down a set of stairs getting further away by the minute. He peered inside and saw that the cabinet had no back to it or a wall behind it for that matter either, so with his five year old curiosity he grabbed the candle and ventured in. Naruto found some torches and lit them to give to room light and to his surprise there was a hallway leading to a steel vault door…

_**Flashback Off**_

The smell of the room hadn't changed in intensity or muskiness. It still smelt of mildew and snakes. He didn't mind the smell much, as for mildew the entire place smelt of it and he considered the snake smell to be of nature. And Naruto loved nature for all his being. The room became dimly lit once he lit two torches on the wall to either side of the entrance. A fine layer of dust covered everything except one book on a table full of scattered notes and alchemical apparatuses'. As Naruto approached the book the title became clear, it read "Journal of Orochimaru" Cracking his neck Naruto picked up the book and opened it to the first page mumbling to no one except himself, "Time to get to work."

_**So there is the first installment of Borrowed Power, this is not the journal of his later days this is his journal from after his parents died which puts him in the academy all the way up to his time taking the chunnin exams. Trust me this won't be like evil, evil evil, Orochimaru's evil will progress as he does, however, his fear of death and lust for power will still be there just in lighter tones. Questions, comments, concerns, leave a review and I will try my best to answer them however I can. Thanks hope you enjoyed it.**_


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